This invention relates to a method of processing a light-sensitive silver halide color photographic material (hereinafter abbreviated as a light-sensitive material), particularly to a stabilizing processing method which performs substantially no water washing step subsequent to the desilverization step.
In recent years, in a photo-finisher which performs automatically and continuously the developing processing of a light-sensitive material, the problems of conservation of environment and water resource are of particularly important concern, and it has been desired that great amount of water to be used in the step of washing with water subsequent to fixing or bleach-fixing processing should be reduced or made zero. For this purpose, there have been proposed techniques in which direct stabilizing processing is conducted without washing with water after processing of fixing or bleach-fixing. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 8542/1982, 132146/1982, 14834/1982, 18631/1983 disclose techniques to perform processing with stabilizing solutions containing isothiazoline derivatives, benzisothiazolilne derivatives, soluble iron complexes, polycarboxylic acids, organic phosphonic acids.
These techniques concern the methods for inhibition or prevention of the problems generated by the fixing components brought about by the light-sensitive material into the water washing-substitutive stabilizing solution (herein meant to be a stabilizing solution which may be used as a substitute for water washing), but any technique cannot be practically provided for use at a certain level or higher of the fixing components brought about, and a supplemental amount of the stabilizing solution is required to be used at a certain level or higher. Particularly, if the fixing component concentration in the final bath for the water washing-substitutive stabilizing solution is increased, there is involved the drawback that stability of the cyan dye under high temperature and high humidity is lowered due to increase of the residual chemicals in the light-sensitive material.
Also, when particularly the amount supplemented is lowered in the processing employing the water washing-substitutive stabilizing solution, the dye contained in the light-sensitive material is accumulated in the water washing-substitutive stabilizing solution to cause stain which is considered to be due to readhesion. The stain causes the white background to deteriorate particularly at the white background of the unexposed portion of a color printing paper, thus creating a serious drawback.